stoice Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 - but are actually "growing" dandelions just for the chooks to eat... Ah-ha - at last an excuse for all those weeds in my garden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redranger Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Growing dandelions especially for your chickens is so sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Oi you two - that's MY box! Looks like we'll need a bigger flask Katie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Any cake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 - but are actually "growing" dandelions just for the chooks to eat... Ah-ha - at last an excuse for all those weeds in my garden! Hmphh, mine just eat my flowers and leave the blooming weeds! Did I hear cake mentioned? We have some fruit cake here - anyone like a slice passed up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 The worst reaction I got was from my DH. I'd be on about getting chickens for several years, and he said I should wait until I retired. Well, I retired three years ago, and soon started investigating chickens. We were going to see his sister in Wales one day, and I said I wanted to go via Ludlow (!) as I wanted to go to the Chicken rare breed centre there. When we arrived, I reassured him that we were only there to look, I wasn't going to buy anything. His mouth fell open, and he confessed that he hadn't thought I'd been serious about keeping chickens. He then started on at me about how it wasn't possible to keep chickens as pets blah blah rats blah blah garden blah blah smell blah blah. So, in the car park at Wernlas, we both talked about what we pictured when we said "keeping chickens", and it turned out we had two completley different views of what chicken keeping meant. I had visions of a few chooks following me around the garden, he had a visition of a shed more akin to a mini battery farm. So, with that out of the way, we agreed we would talk to the lady at Wernlas and see what she said about keeping chickens in a garden. They were very positive about garden keeping, and reassured us about the smell/rats/noise etc. But the battle with DH was far from over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckbok Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Well most people were surprised but positive. I wouldn't worry about it they are just boring , it's better than saying "oh I've got a cat or a dog" when you can say "I've got chickens!!" It's funny when people see us as they call us the chicken people and they always ask how the chickens are before how are we! You go on ahead and enjoy your chickens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splodge88 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 My friends were suprised in a good way when I said I was getting chickens. The reaction was more negative when I said I was getting a unicycle "Guess what?!!" "What?" "I'm getting chickens!!" "That's so cool!" couple of months later... "Guess what?!!" "What?!!" "I'm getting a unicycle!!" "You can't ride a unicycle." "Not yet but -" "You can't ride a unicycle." "I can learn..." "But what's the point in buying it if you can't ride it?" "I'm going to learn!" "Oh dear..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodcat Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 The only real reaction i got was "Do you live on a farm?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalu Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 I'm getting lots of mixed reactions from people when I've said we're getting chickens (mainly negative to be honest ). My conversation with my mum went something like this: 'Ooh, Mum, guess what we're getting?' 'Erm, don't know...a new car?' 'Chickens!' 'You what??' 'Chickens!!' 'What? Chickens?' 'Yes, chickens, hens, eggs, you know bok bok ' 'Yes Karen I know what a ****** chicken is!' Hi Karen I had exactly the same (including Yes Karen I know a ****** chicken is) from my mum. She also ranted that there was no way she would be looking after them if i went we went away for the weekend, oh and "you do know where the eggs come from" blah blah. My best friend almost laughed herself off her seat in Pizza Express when I told her, she laughed so much she had me in stitches too!! I now have to keep a list of who has had eggs and who wants eggs as i never have enough to cope with demand AND my mother was the first to volunteer to come and look after our girls when we went away, amazing how she had completely forgotten her negative initial reponse!! The girls are so entertaining....they can hear the back door open from the other end of the garden (i try to do it as quietly as possible to see how far up the garden i can get before they realise) and they literally do a running jump the length of the garden, very funny. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 The only real reaction i got was "Do you live on a farm?" My 2 year old God Daughter has asked me "Are you a Farmer?" Bless her, she'd made the connection between my chickens and veg growing and convinced herself that I was a farmer! Love her, she plays with the chooks and looks at the veg in my rather modest garden, so she must have a strange view of what a farm actually is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmamakeup Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 (edited) A few months ago I was chatting to my in-laws about my mission to grow my own vegetables this year and recreate what I had during childhood - fresh vegetables from the allotment etc and then my hubby laughed and said "next there will be chickens in the back garden too". Well what he didn't realise was that I was secretly deciding on what colour Eglu I was going to buy with the money I'd saved from my face painting work. One night I left out the Omlet brochure and hubby found it. He thought I was off my trolley to start with and then realised about the prospect of free eggs. The word spread to the rest of my family and friends. Most gave the reaction - "you're getting chickens????? Why are you getting chickens????" Most of my friends with kids the same age as Olivia (who is 2) were really impressed and thought it was a great idea and that Olivia would absolutely love them. I've posted some pics on Facebook of our new feathered friends and everyone has come back with really positive comments - some still think I'm a bit crazy but in a good way (if that makes sense) and Olivia just loves them - she feeds them treats every evening before bedtime and she's totally fearless of them as they are of her. Hubby is really fond of Bob, Hermione and Berny and my mum thinks it's great as she really misses her hens. I can't wait to find our first egg!!!!! I think if we move and get a bigger garden we'll get another eglu and invest in a duck Edited May 26, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenW Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 And guess where the chickens are going when we go away? Yep, to my parents... Who I think are looking forward to it more then we are looking forward to our holiday! They are very proud of their garden - but are actually "growing" dandelions just for the chooks to eat... That's so funny, bless them! But I really *cannot* see my Mum looking after the chickens when we go away Never say never though, maybe I'll be posting next year saying, 'you'll never guess what....?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Most people don't get it at first, they always say "why chickens?". I just smile and tell them to come and visit the girls. Ten seconds after watching them roam around the garden they always say "what a lovely soothing noise they make, I thought they'd be really loud". And then I pick one up for a cuddle and let them stroke one and they say "wow, they're really soft aren't they? I didn't expect that". It's so funny what people expect and how easy it is to change their opinions. Two of the people who have been to my house and met my ladies now have chickens themselves . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I never expected that my getting chickens would be such a plus for my neighbourhood. The news spread like wildfire, but in a totally positive and unifying way! Since Abbey Road is full of typical 2-up 2-down Victorian artisan houses, it must have been commonplace to keep chickens and indeed many of my neighbours really enjoy recalling how their parents or grandparents kept them. It has been a totally positive experience and even the neighbour who is most phobic about rats has never brought the subject up. "It's like being in the country" is the most common remark. (Mind you, I have no idea what they say behind my back... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redranger Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 About 5 yrs ago my mom had some chickens in her garden - they've all gone now, but she enjoys hearing all about mine, and reminiscing about the fun she had with hers. She also says it reminds her of when she was a girl, and her gran had chickens in the back yard. It reminds her of the olden days Along those lines, my partner and I are joined up with a charity called Contact the elderly, for old people over the age of 75, who live alone and are unable to leave the house unassisted - the idea is you throw a tea party for them once a month, as a chance for them to get out and socialise, and for some of these people, it's very often the only outing each month that they will have. Anyway, we're looking forward to introducing them to the chickens when they come, and giving them some eggs to take away with them - have a feeling they will really enjoy themselves with our friendly chooks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 About 5 yrs ago my mom had some chickens in her garden - they've all gone now, but she enjoys hearing all about mine, and reminiscing about the fun she had with hers. She also says it reminds her of when she was a girl, and her gran had chickens in the back yard. It reminds her of the olden days Along those lines, my partner and I are joined up with a charity called Contact the elderly, for old people over the age of 75, who live alone and are unable to leave the house unassisted - the idea is you throw a tea party for them once a month, as a chance for them to get out and socialise, and for some of these people, it's very often the only outing each month that they will have. Anyway, we're looking forward to introducing them to the chickens when they come, and giving them some eggs to take away with them - have a feeling they will really enjoy themselves with our friendly chooks! What a fantastic idea for a charity , I bet they will adore your chickens. So many of my elderly acquaintances have fond memories of chook keeping when younger, they aren't able to do it any more, but love hearing all about my girls antics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Pudding Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 A few people went . Most of them were really intrigued, and more than one said 'I always wanted to keep chickens....' and went all misty-eyed on me. My neighbour said 'Oh how lovely!', feeds them slugs and snails when she's gardening and has only once asked us to fortify the fence a bit (when we found out that chickens really like the taste of crocosmia shoots). My parents said 'we always knew you would eventually!'. Dad had them as a lad in the war and is very fond of our three. The elderly lady whose garden they escape into every few months loves them, and looks forward to their 'visits' and the mad chase that ensues when I arrive to remove them. The friend who doesn't do pets happily chook-sat for me last summer. Only one person at work went down the 'rats-smell-garden' route, and she is a bit too house-beautiful-sparkly-surfaces-manicured to go near anything that poos. I offered her eggs once, but she declined - I don't know if she thinks anything not bought from a supermarket is even edible . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busybird Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I saved my first big announcement for my Book Group. When I told them 'I'm getting chickens!' another lady said 'You're not! So am I' She ordered a month after me as a surprise Valentines present for her hubby (so if your OH objects try that ) and made me a Good Egg My family raised their eyebrows a lot but are generally used to my behaviour Splodge88 - did you ever learn to ride your unicycle? I bought one for my OH for Christmas but he has yet to get the hang of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Sadly my Mum passed away just before I got the girls in fact this was one of the reasons I decided to get the girls to give me something else to focus on My colleagues at work always introduce me to any visiting staff as " oh and this is Lynn she keeps chickens " I sometimes think I am viewed as some wierdo funny how they never refuse any eggs though Only today when I mentioned being on the Omlet forum did I get screams of laughter "A chicken forum called Omlet" your not serious people actually talk about chickens Then when I arrived home from work I stopped to speak to my next door neighbour and lady with a tiny Chihuahua when I commented it was actually smaller than my chickens She said Oh is it you that keeps chickens I felt my stomach sink thinking she might be going to complain, when she said I love walking past your garden and hearing them chatting away it reminds me of when I was a child in the war years and my mum kept chickens Phew!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I arrived home from shopping yesterday and was chatting to a neighbour who knows I had chickens. At that very moment there was an awful bokking sound followed by a deeper bokking. Apache and Sioux! I said I was sorry I would have to go and check on them and he said "oh, is that the chickens - I wondered what it was because I could hear them this morning. All this time and I've never, ever heard them before" - phew. I told him that they had been very naughty lately and if they keep on I will have one for dinner and he could have the other one. He laughed. Then we chatted about eggs and he thought that the colour was down to what they were fed. He had a little lesson about chickens and by the time I genned him up, my naughty girls had stopped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splodge88 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Lots of people don't realise we have chickens unless we tell them...which we usually do becuase its so much fun to talk about chickens Busybird: I haven't really got the hang of unicycling yet...I do it in the hallway and can do it alright but have to hold on to things as I go along I've learnt a few golden rules but I think all I need now is practice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenW Posted May 30, 2009 Author Share Posted May 30, 2009 Thanks for all your replies It's good to know that most people come round in the end! I went to pick up my daughters birthday cake today (2 tomorrow ) and the lady has a cube and 6 chickens and I got all excited telling her about mine coming She was lovely and was saying how brilliant they are etc. And after dh saying no to chickens for so long, I'm sure I didn't make up the conversation this week where he said something like '...and if we love having them maybe we could treat ourselves to a cube for Christmas in a couple of years...' 4 weeks to go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
